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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25290772">Izumi's First Day</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miyuki_scourgeofthefirenation/pseuds/Miyuki_scourgeofthefirenation'>Miyuki_scourgeofthefirenation</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>That Zukka Teacher AU [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Teachers, F/M, Family, Family Fluff, First Day of School, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Katara - Freeform, M/M, POV Izumi, Tenzin - Freeform, aang - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 10:36:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,456</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25290772</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miyuki_scourgeofthefirenation/pseuds/Miyuki_scourgeofthefirenation</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Izumi is starting her first day as a freshman at Ba Sing Se High School. She wants it to be perfect, like something out of one of those teen movies she loves so much. However, the teens in her movies never had to deal with having both of their dads working as teachers at their new school. What’s a 14 year old to do?</p><p>~</p><p>All works in the series, while within the same universe, can be understood and enjoyed as standalone fics!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bumi II &amp; Izumi, Bumi II &amp; Kya II (Avatar), Izumi &amp; Kya (Avatar), Izumi &amp; OCs, Izumi &amp; Sokka, Izumi &amp; Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>That Zukka Teacher AU [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1829605</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>75</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>469</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Before School</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I’m somewhere between proud and ashamed to say that I am back on my bullshit regarding writing far too many ideas at once! Here is the latest offering from my mind that does not know how to calm down ever.</p><p>I was thinking about how I haven’t seen that many fics that involve Dads! Zukka in the modern world. And then this idea happened. Takes place in the same world as The Teacher Trap, but you do not have to read that one to understand this one. Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Izumi doesn’t know how she feels about today. On the one hand, she’s finally going to be starting high school. She’s finally going to be living out all those teen movies she’s watched over and over again with Kya. Or something like that, apparently they’re not all that realistic actually, but Izumi doesn’t care. She’s still obsessed with them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>However, she’s also starting high school today. Which means she will now be attending the school where not one, but both of her dads work. She groans as she checks her backpack to make sure she has all her school supplies once again. Hey, she wants to be prepared, there’s nothing wrong with that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Izumi had dragged one of the aforementioned dads, Sokka, with her to this cute little stationary store downtown to stock up for the school year and she was not about to forget even one adorable notebook or pen at home now. He had really enjoyed the store too, somewhat to Izumi’s surprise, and had gotten what he dubbed ‘family planners’ which were three planners with the same swirling design on them just in different colors for the three of them; Izumi, Sokka, and her other dad Zuko. A dark red for Izumi, light blue for Sokka, and deep gold for Zuko. Izumi loved them, though she wouldn’t necessarily be willing to admit that to anyone at school.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thinking about this as she fondly holds the planner, idly tracing the lines across it, brings up her nerves again. Specifically her nerves about going to school at the place both her parents work. She had known this day would come on some level, but hadn’t ever truly considered what it would mean for her social life within the school until the summer before she was set to start. It ought to be illegal to have to go to school where even one of your parents works, much less where two of them work, she thinks ruefully. Steeling herself from the day she places the planner back into her black and white backpack, zips it closed, picks it up and walks out of her room to the kitchen for breakfast.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Izumi gets to the kitchen and finds Sokka already there. He beams at her, looking up from something he was reading out of a packet of papers. “Good morning sweetie! Happy first day of school!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks,” Izumi says as she takes a seat across from him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And I have the perfect first day treat,” he grins, holding up a box of their favorite sugary cereal and shaking it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oooooh, how’d you sneak it in?” Izumi asks. Zuko could be rather strict with them both about sugary breakfast foods. (“It’s the most important meal of the day! She shouldn’t be filling up on sugar that’ll just leave her tired in an hour or two. And </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> shouldn’t either for that matter.”)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sokka just gave her a mysterious look. “I have my ways young padawan.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Izumi giggles at that, the little family was obsessed with everything Star Wars. “Well please, hand it over then O great Jedi master!” Sokka happily obliges, and Izumi pours some of the cereal out into the bowls Sokka had already placed on the table. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two chew in silence for a couple minutes before Sokka says, “I just can’t believe my little baby is off to high school already.” He gives her an overexaggerated sappy look. “Much less that she’s off to MY high school.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Which brings up an excellent point- Why do you and Dad have to work at the same school? And why does it have to be the school I’m now gonna be going to?” Izumi whines.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sokka feigns outrage and confusion. “Young lady if it hadn’t been for that school your dad and I wouldn’t have met and you wouldn’t exist right now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Izumi rolls her eyes at this. “That’s not how that works, Pa. I’m adopted. I would still exist.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are you talking about, no you wouldn’t. I pushed you out of my body myself!” he eats a spoonful of cereal, acting as if the crunching somehow proves his point. Zuko walks into the kitchen at that moment and scoffs as he crosses to the cabinet to get a mug and fills it up with the tea he made earlier. “What? It’s true. You were there, you should know,” Sokka continues. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now it’s Zuko’s turn to roll his eyes. Izumi clearly picked the habit up from him. “You get weirder by the day, which is saying something considering the baseline you started from. If you’re not careful soon enough you’ll be firmly in ‘Old Man Yells at Cloud’ territory. Or even worse, ‘How Do You Do Fellow Kids?’ territory.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sokka grins happily at that. “I can’t wait to be a strange old man who confuses the neighborhood kids. I think I’m going to be really good at it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>You’re gonna be great at it,” Zuko drops a kiss onto the top of Sokka’s head as he moves to take a seat with them at the table. He also casts a disapproving glance down at the cereal, but says nothing, instead turning his attention to his own breakfast of fruit, yogurt, and granola. Izumi hazards a guess that he’s giving them leeway for the first day of school.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But right now I’m still too young and hip for that,” Sokka says, frowning seriously. Izumi gives a derisive laugh. Zuko grins conspiratorially at her while Sokka huffs indignantly. “I will have you know I’m up on all the fresh teen lingo! Megan’s new TikTok was on fleek. And I oop sksksk. YOLO.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Izumi stares back at him very seriously while Zuko almost falls out of his chair laughing. “Pa, I’m establishing a new ground rule that you are not allowed to talk to me while we’re at school.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sokka frowns, “Did I use a phrase wrong?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think all those phrases were wrong, hon,” Zuko supplies after he manages to catch his breath. Izumi nods, digging into her bowl of cereal. “Let’s leave the teen slang to the actual teens, shall we?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After the family finishes breakfast and gathers all their things for the day they load up into the car and head out to pick up Bumi before going to school. Bumi is Izumi’s oldest cousin, one of the sons of her Aunt Katara and Uncle Aang. He’s a junior at Ba Sing Se High School, and has been getting rides with Sokka and Zuko for two years now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The school drop off system has always worked well for the two households. They live fairly close to each other, and had early on developed a way to make mornings easier on all of them. Sokka and Zuko would drop Izumi off with Aang and Katara, and started picking Bumi up to take with them once he had started high school.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Aang and Katara’s house was close to where the elementary school was, so Uncle Aang had always walked with them to school when they were going there. Tenzin is starting his last year there today, Izumi knows. She also knows that Uncle Aang is secretly rather emotional about this, he has always enjoyed walking them all and doesn’t look forward to not having that anymore after this year.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aunt Katara works in a family clinic that is just a street away from the middle school, so she always drove the middle school aged kids there. She’ll be taking Kya alone today, no longer Izumi. Izumi feels a twinge of sadness when thinking about this, and when thinking about not having Kya with her in school today. Kya is her best friend, she’s only a year younger than her and the two grew up together.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their car pulls up in front of the house, and Izumi turns to look outside and sees that the family of five are all waiting outside on the front lawn for them. Uncle Aang waves enthusiastically at them as the car pulls into the driveway. Izumi unbuckles her seat belt to get out of the car before realizing that she could just stay. Should she stay in the car? She’s always gotten out before, but that was because one of the others was taking her to school. The rules are different now, and Izumi is unsure of what to do.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She dimly registers the sound of the door to the car opening and closing. Looking up she finds herself alone in the car with Zuko, Sokka having gotten out and bounded over to where everyone else stood outside. Her dad turns in his seat to look at her, apparently sensing the conflict she’s feeling. He always did seem to have a gift for sensing when she started to overthink things and withdraw into herself. Probably because he had a tendency to do the same thing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey kiddo,” he says, “how about we go and say hi to all of them. I’m sure they would love to give you a proper family send off on your first day. Plus, how else will Kya get a chance to wax rhapsodic about how jealous she is of you going to high school without her for the thousandth time?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Izumi smiles a bit, and looks outside to where the cousin in question was staring her down and practically bouncing out of her shoes. She glances back to Zuko, who gives an encouraging nod. He also has a gift for knowing that the best way to snap her out of her unsure and introspective funks was to get her in the middle of a group of friends and family. She was Sokka’s daughter too after all. With that she opens the door.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Please don’t ask me questions related to timelines or what years these things take place, I have no clue. I just wrote the thing, I don’t necessarily understand it. Let’s all just enjoy the ride.</p><p>Was one of the main reasons I wrote this to have Sokka using teen slang from the past ten years or so and misusing it badly? I’ll never tell. </p><p>Yes, Zuko is up on his memes. He’s the drama teacher and the students print them out and he puts them up on a bulletin board in his classroom. He loves them, even if he doesn’t always understand them.</p><p>I look at your comments and kudos and the sky’s the limit (OohOohOoh)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Morning Classes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The morning was emotional to say the least. The adults kept fussing and crooning over the kids, (“My youngest baby is in his last year of elementary school!”/”My ONLY baby is in high school!”). Eventually they manage to get free and actually leave for the various schools. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the car bound for the high school begins backing up the driveway Kya suddenly breaks away and rushes towards it. Zuko obligingly stops the car, even though Izumi knows they must be running at least slightly late by now. Kya reaches the side of the car right where Izumi is sitting. She enthusiastically bangs her hands against the window and motions for Izumi to roll it down. Izumi swears she can hear Aunt Katara in the background lightly scolding Kya for hitting the car like that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Izumi rolls down the window. “What?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I-” Kya hesitates, glancing over at where her brother sat next to Izumi engrossed in his phone. “I just wanted to say you better not have too much fun without me there.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Izumi smiles, “I won’t! You know I won’t, how could I? You make everything better.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I know,” Kya throws her long brown hair over her shoulder with a playful smirk that Izumi can tell is fake. “Needed you to acknowledge it though. The real fun isn’t allowed to start until I’m there next year.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ll have the most fun next year, promise,” Izumi says. Then, quieter, “I’m going to miss you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kya sucks in a breath and fiddles with her nails. “I’m going to miss you too. So much.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bumi sighs aggressively, “If we’re finally done with this can we go to school? Never thought I would be encouraging going to school,” he mutters under his breath. Izumi and Kya both turn to glare at him. Sokka and Zuko exchange a look with each other in the front seat but stay quiet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“One last thing,” Kya says, “and then I’ll let you live out your wildest dreams of going to school big brother.” She turns her attention back to Izumi. “Have a really good day. I hope all your teachers are nice, and that the food is good, and that passing period is long enough to actually get to class.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Izumi laughs. Passing period in their middle school had always been rather short, and it became a running joke between the two of them about whether they would make it to class on time. “Thanks Kya! I’m sure it will be, it’s eight minutes after all!  I hope your day is really good too. Don’t let Mr. Jensen get on your case too much in homeroom, and remember,” here she pauses in what is meant to be a faux dramatic fashion. But then she looks into Kya’s eyes and finds herself getting emotional instead. “You’re not allowed to have too much fun without me either.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kya’s eyes mist up. “I never could.” Aang coughs politely from back over by the house, snapping the two girls out of their moment. “Well,” Kya says, “I would hate to be the one to keep Bumi from his true love: school, so I’m gonna go back over there.” With that she indicates the house.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bye!” Izumi calls to her as she retreats. Kya smiles as the car backs out into the street. Izumi rolls the window back up again, and waves towards the house until they turn a corner and it disappears out of sight.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bumi snorts. “You guys act like you’re never gonna see each other again. Like, you will literally see her this afternoon.” Izumi considers hitting him with her pencil case, but decides it wouldn’t be worth her dads yelling at her. Instead she rolls her eyes at him and turns to lean her head against the window. She lets her thoughts wander the rest of the way to school.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Okay, so it turned out passing period was not long enough despite it being eight minutes in length. The school was massive, and Izumi has no idea where she’s going, despite Zuko going over classroom placements with her yesterday. She knew she should have paid more attention, and now she was dangerously close to being late for second period geometry.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She just barely manages to find the classroom block for the math classes in time. With a relieved sigh she makes her way to an empty seat at a table in the back row. Izumi doesn’t stay there for long however, as the teacher is quick to herd the students into new placements made by a randomly generated seating chart. She finds herself now sitting next to a friendly-looking girl with blonde hair and glasses.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After the teacher takes attendance she gives the students a minute or two to introduce themselves to the person sitting next to them. Izumi is relieved about this. She was afraid she would go through the entire class without knowing anyone there. Geometry was a sophomore level class, Izumi had placed into it to the delight of Sokka. Which meant there were only a few other scattered freshmen in the room, none of whom she knew.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She turns to face the girl next to her. “Hi!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” the girl responds brightly. “My name is Katy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Izumi.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m a sophomore. My family just moved here a few months ago. Bit intimidating, new school and all.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m a freshman,” Izumi says with a smile. “So I get that. I mean, I’ve lived in the school district my whole life, but half my friends from middle school went to the other high school in our district, and a lot of others are still in middle school.” She laughs somewhat awkwardly, realizing she’s rambling. “Only know so many people here myself. Haven’t seen much of them yet today.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Katy doesn’t seem to mind the rambling. “What lunch period do you have?” she asks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Um,” Izumi thinks back to her schedule. “Third.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She lights up, “Perfect! Do you want to eat together? I met a couple nice students in history earlier who invited me to eat with them. I’m sure they would welcome you eating with them too!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Izumi pauses for a moment. She did need a place to eat. The only friend who has an overlapping lunch with her is YJ, and he had fourth lunch so he’d only be there for the last ten minutes anyway. Well, Bumi had third lunch, but she wasn’t about to try and sit with him and his friends. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure, that would be great, thanks,” she responds.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wonderful!” Katy says. “I’ll wait for you after we get out of the lunch line, then we’ll go find the others.” Izumi smiles, but before she can say anything else the teacher is calling the class back, and she has to focus her attention onto geometry.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>*hopeful look* Comments? Kudos?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Lunch</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Lunch is actually something that can be so personal</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Before Izumi even realizes what is happening in her own history class for the day it is already time for lunch. This day is going by so much quicker than she thought it would. She figured the longer class periods would make the classes drag on and on, but instead it feels like they’re whipping by and she barely has enough time to register all the information that is being thrown at her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They’ll be enough time later to try and wrap her mind around the new flow of high school. Right now though, is lunch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Katy is true to her word, and hangs around at the condiment station waiting for Izumi to finish getting her food. After she joins her they begin looking around for the others. Which actually proves to be more challenging than anticipated. There are so many tables, the cafeteria area is twice as big here as it was in middle school. And Izumi doesn’t even know what the other kids look like, so she’s basically useless when it comes to finding them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Katy shouts, “There!” after a couple of minutes that feel like a lifetime to Izumi, and swoops over to a table along the outer edge of the cafeteria. Izumi trails along behind her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” a somewhat gangly looking guy in a wheelchair waves at them as they approach.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is my new friend Izumi,” Katy says once they reach the table. “We met in math class this morning.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hi Izumi, I’m Anthony!” the guy introduces himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I met Anthony in history this morning, along with Jessy,” here Katy points at the black girl sitting at the table talking with another girl with long curly brown hair who’s sitting across from her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jessy grins at the two of them. “Hi Katy! Glad you managed to find us. The cafeteria can be so huge at first after all. And it’s great to meet you Izumi! Sit down, sit down!” The two oblige, with Katy sitting next to Jessy, while Izumi takes the seat next to Katy. There is exactly one open seat left around the circular table, right between Izumi and Anthony.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Right as Izumi is about to ask what everyone else’s names are, there are still three people she doesn’t know, she spots an unexpected and familiar face. “YJ!” she squeals, standing up and waving her hands to where he is walking down the main cafeteria aisle looking a bit lost. A moment later she feels self conscious, as she realizes that the attention of several nearby tables has shifted towards her. But then YJ is striding towards her with relief on his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Izumi!” he says in greeting. He glances down towards the empty seat next to her. “Can I sit here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Izumi looks back at the rest of the group for a second, and both Anthony and Katy give encouraging nods. “Of course!” she beams. She takes a moment to throw her arms around the tall Chinese boy after he sets his tray down, but before they both take their seats. It’s just a relief to see a familiar friendly face here. So far today she’s only seen people she vaguely knew in passing or across classrooms. YJ brings some measure of comfort to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So,” Anthony says as the two sit down, “now seems like the perfect time to do a round of introductions don’t you think?” Izumi smiles, Anthony is apparently something of the leader of this little group. “Well, I’m Anthony. This is Jasmine,” he indicates the girl with curly brown hair sitting next to him. “That’s Syd, who uses they/them pronouns,” the person with blond hair shoved under a beanie on the other side of Jasmine gives a smile and small wave, “then there’s Veronica.” Veronica is a stunningly pretty girl with deep auburn hair and who looks like she’d be rather tall once standing up. “And then Jessy, before finally getting around to our other newest recruit Katy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>YJ smiles easily at everyone around the table. “Very nice to meet you all, I’m YJ, and as you may have guessed I’m a friend of Izumi’s here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you guys both freshmen? I’d assume so since you know each other,” Jessy asks and takes a bite out of the apple on her tray.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yep,” Izumi replies. “We met in 5th grade when YJ kicked me while on the swing set.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Accidentally!” YJ bursts out. “You always conveniently forget to mention the accidentally part.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Suuuuuure,” Izumi drawls, teasing him. Then she remembers something. “What are you doing here so early anyway? Didn’t you have fourth lunch?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I thought I did, but apparently not. Third lunch it is then. Which is better anyway, didn’t know who I was going to sit with in fourth lunch.” YJ shrugs and takes a huge bite of his hamburger. Izumi rolls her eyes at this, YJ was a very social person, he would have been just fine finding a place to sit on his own. He was still right that this was better though.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The next fifteen minutes or so pass by easily, with various people within the group talking across the table or to those sitting next to them. Izumi chats for a while with Jessy and Katy, but then quiets for a bit to focus on eating her food. Eventually the tall pretty girl, Veronica, Izumi thinks, turns to the other girl with curly hair at the table whose name Izumi can’t remember right now  (there’s been a lot of introductions today, alright?) and starts talking about the classes she’s had so far today. Izumi isn’t really paying much attention to what is being said until…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And then of course, I had Physics class this morning with Mr. Sokka,” Veronica says, in a strangely smug tone of voice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oooooooo,” Anthony intones in a mocking sing-song tone. Izumi freezes, she had been hoping to avoid any mention of either of her dads today, and had been doing well so far. So much for the best laid plans. She takes a long drink of her water bottle in the hopes that the conversation will have shifted away from this topic by the time she’s done.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait,” Katy cut in, “I know I’ve only just started here and all, but I’ve still managed to hear some whispers in the hallways, isn’t Mr. Sokka the really hot teacher?” Izumi shouldn’t have taken that drink of water since she now begins to choke on it. YJ for his part starts thumping her on the back while laughing maniacally. The others look over at them in alarm, but YJ just waves his hand to indicate that they should keep talking. Unhelpful jerk.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Veronica says, in a disturbingly dreamy way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Isn’t he like, 40?” Syd supplies neutrally. Izumi is immediately grateful to them, they seem to understand the necessity to shut this train of thought down.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s 46 actually,” YJ pipes up. So he’s finally decided to join the conversation but it’s with that. Jerk, Izumi thinks once again, beginning to recover from her near death experience with the water and the, you know, classmates thinking her father is hot. So gross. She shudders.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How do you know that?” Veronica frowns. “You just started here today right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yep!” YJ chirps. “But I’ve known Sokka for years through Izumi.” Great, now everyone is looking at her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How do you know Mr. Sokka?” Anthony asks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well, any hope Izumi had to get through today without having to bring up her dads with other students is well and truly gone now. She takes a deep breath, “He’s my dad. Well, one dad. I have two.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The others all look rather mortified by this news, and Izumi is secretly rather pleased to see it. Good, no kid should have to hear their new school friends talk about the attractiveness of their father.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a moment Syd nods their head. “Cool. Anything else we should know? You related to any more teachers or school administrators?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Actually, yes,” Izumi says, and the others expressions of shock somehow manage to become even more pronounced. “Mr. Zuko. He’s my other dad. I am now the girl attending the high school where both her parents work. It’s a blast so far,” she keeps a deadpan look on her face for this last sentence. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re telling me I’ve gone to this school for two years and am only just now learning that the two hottest teachers here are married to each other?” The other girl who’s name Izumi doesn’t remember bursts out. She cringes, “Sorry, sorry, that’s your parents.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>YJ continues his habit of being unhelpful today by guffawing. “Please, continue. This is absolutely hilarious and the best part of my day so far.” Izumi throws a french fry at him. He tries to catch it in his mouth but fails.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anthony lets out a loud laugh. “That reminds me of the closest thing we ever got to a food fight here,” he says, gesturing between the two. “Somebody just started throwing baby carrots all over. One hit Syd here on the nose!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Syd wrinkles their nose at that, as if in memory of that incident. “Somehow they never did figure out who was throwing the carrots.” They look at Izumi, “You know, you’d think they’d be able to find that information out since there was only one person doing it. But alas,” they adopt a dramatic face, “it was not to be.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Izumi laughs, she appreciates that Syd and Anthony are helping to change the subject away from her and her family. The group aimlessly chat about other things for the remaining five or so minutes of lunch, and agree to have lunch together again tomorrow. Izumi hums happily as she walks back to the classroom for the rest of history class. She has lunch plans for tomorrow, and a </span>
  <em>
    <span>group</span>
  </em>
  <span> to sit with. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s all very high school, isn’t it?</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thinks. Just like those movies.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I would like to apologize to Izumi for the unintentional gross factor. I'm sorry Izumi.</p><p>If you, dear reader, can forgive me long enough to leave comment and kudos I would be greatly obliged.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. After School</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The rest of Izumi’s first day goes smoothly. She’s pleased to discover that she shares her fourth period art elective with both Anthony and the other girl from lunch (Jasmine is her name it turns out). Jasmine apologizes for what she said earlier, (“My mouth sometimes blurts things out before I have the chance to stop and think it through”) and Izumi easily moves past it. She’s said enough awkward things in her life to understand what it’s like after all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The other two even give Izumi their numbers once class is over, with promises to make a group chat for all of the lunch crew. Izumi knows she has a giddy smile on her face as she goes to find Bumi so they can walk to the parking lot together (it was the only way she could get her dads to agree to let her avoid going to one of their classrooms), but she doesn’t care.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She finds him leaning up against a wall near the back door, talking with a friend. She draws up alongside them as the friend leaves, giving Bumi a goodbye punch as he goes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, little cousin,” Bumi says. “Good first day?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Izumi responds. “I made friends!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, hey, good for you!” Bumi teases. “I had faith all along. This really is proof that if you just-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Izumi stops listening to him, knowing he’s just being obnoxious now. Her phone dings from her pocket. She eagerly pulls it out to find the promised group chat. </span>
  <b>[The Moo Moo Lunch Crew] </b>
  <span>She snorts.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Moo Moo Lunch Crew?</b>
  <span> She types into her phone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The answering response comes from the number she recognizes as Jasmine’s.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Its a whole thing.. Will explain tmrw</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>R we rlly still on that?</b>
  <span> comes from a number she doesn’t have saved.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>U know it </b>
  <span>Jasmine shoots back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before Izumi can type anything else into her phone, Bumi clears his throat. “So are we walking to the car or what? Personally, I’m fine with leaving you here, but I feel like the uncles would kill me if I lost their precious baby girl on her first day.” He says the last part in a baby voice, and Izumi rolls her eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lead the way,” she motions with her hand towards the door. She may also make a certain inappropriate gesture with one of her fingers as she does so.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Y’know, I’d rat you out to the uncles for that if I wasn’t so impressed with how smooth that was,” Bumi states.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What can I say, I’m a very impressive person.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure. Whatever you say.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two meander out to the car, and a few minutes later Sokka and Zuko join them. They all pile in to head over to Aang and Katara’s house.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So,” Sokka begins, “how was the first day?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good,” Bumi says without offering any further information. Izumi notices her dad biting back a laugh in the rearview mirror, and figures this is typically how their attempts to talk with Bumi about school have gone for the past couple years.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What about you sweetie?” Zuko asks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It was great!” Izumi chirps. My classes seem like they’ll be interesting-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nerd!” Bumi coughs under his breath, but Izumi just ignores him and keeps talking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And I found a nice group to sit with at lunch. Even if it did start off awkward…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sokka frowns, “What do you mean awkward?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Izumi hesitates. “Uh, well… They didn’t know I was your daughter and so a couple of them may have, uh, said they thought you guys were hot.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” Zuko yelps as Sokka grimaces and rubs at his eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Welcome to my life,” Bumi snickers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” Zuko yelps again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Izumi rounds on Bumi with a glare. “You knew about this? And didn’t warn me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That wouldn’t have been any fun,” Bumi smirks at her. She then promptly picks up her pencil case and begins hitting him with it. It’s worth the potential trouble this time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey! Kids! Kids knock it off right now!” Sokka demands from the front passenger seat as he twists around to try and grab the pencil case out of Izumi’s hand. She finally relents in her onslaught, but as soon as Sokka turns back around she sticks her tongue out at her cousin. For his part, Bumi doesn’t do anything. He just smiles in a way that can only be described as calculating, and quietly starts scrolling through his phone again. Izumi has known Bumi long enough to know that can’t be good.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sure enough, a few minutes later a ding sounds from her phone. It’s from Bumi, a series of screenshots of friends and classmates of his discussing who was hotter: Sokka or Zuko. “Ewwwww,” she screeches, and picks her pencil case up again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think I even want to know this time,” Zuko sighs.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You better start getting used to it now!” Bumi crows as Izumi whacks him repeatedly on the shoulder with her weapon of mass stationary.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I definitely don’t want to know,” Sokka says.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Izumi and Bumi manage to stop trying to beat each other up in the backseat of the car by the time they arrive back at Aang and Katara’s house. They’re having dinner there tonight, another first day of school tradition.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Izumi shouts a quick hello to Aang and Tenzin when she walks through the door of the house (Katara is at work for a couple more hours yet) before rushing upstairs to Kya’s room. She’s eager to dissect every part of the first day of school with her best friend. Well, almost every part. Izumi can only hope scientists invent some way of deleting unwanted memories from people’s brains so she can forget those screenshots.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kya squeals when she bursts through the door. “Oh my god, how was it? Was it great? Fun? Wait, you didn’t have too much fun though right? You’re not allowed to have that much fun without me you know. The pact.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Izumi laughs, “It was good. And you know I’ll never totally have fun without you! I need you to have the maximum amount of fun possible.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And don’t you forget it!” Kya sasses. “But seriously! Tell me </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So Izumi opens her mouth and begins to talk.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>That's all folks! As always comments and kudos make my little heart sing. I hope you all liked!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Follow me on Tumblr if you wanna! @miyuki-scourgeofthefirenation<br/>I take fic requests, though I make no promises about timeliness in fulfilling them. Hit me up on Tumblr and we can talk about it. No NSFW. Don’t ask, it’s not gonna happen.<br/>I upload for ATLA on Sundays!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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